(Davitydave photo.)

"You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt." (Exodus 23:9)

Often I hear about how illegal aliens are bankrupting this country. They're getting welfare. They're collecting social security. They're using our medical services.

Most of this isn't true. Take social security for example: the U.S. Government Information website warns that in order to apply for benefits, a person must provide "Your birth certificate, or proof of U.S. citizenship."  Snopes, in debunking one of the more recent email petition requests on the subject, quotes the following:

"In its 2008 annual report, Social Security officials said undocumented immigrants actual[ly] benefit the Social Security trust fund. One reason is that many of them pay Social Security taxes but never collect benefits. In previously published reports, Social Security officials have said undocumented immigrants paid about $7 billion into the trust fund in 2005, the latest year for which numbers are available."

But suppose illegals were collecting social security benefits based on what they paid in— like every other wage earner, 15.3% of their pay (including company contributions). There's a strong feeling in the U.S. that if you're not here legally, you should be denied participation, even when you've paid for it. That's because illegal immigration is considered by some to be criminal.

Yet the Bible tells us that we must not oppress the aliens among us— those from other lands. And it gives us a good reason: because we were once aliens, too. Though addressed to the early Israelites, this passage applies equally to Americans, the vast majority of whose families (with the sole exception of Native Americans) originated somewhere else, and fled to this land to escape poverty, starvation, or religious and political persecution.

Perhaps it is natural for us to rewrite our histories— we are the true Americans; we built this country. And yes, we did. But as it is today, the first generation of our ancestors to arrive did the manual labor, while their children and grandchildren typically did better.

Now, we want to close the gates to all who would choose the same risks and hopes as our ancestors. Never mind that few of us would choose to pick strawberries for a living (at any wage!), or be a night janitor in a high rise, or work ten-hour shifts in a garment factory. Never mind that we need immigrants as much as our ancestors were needed in their day. The Bible tells us point blank: we cannot in good conscience deny to others the justice our ancestors sought.

What else does the Bible say concerning immigrants?

• "[T]here shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you." (Exodus 12:49)
• "You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt... If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword..." (Exodus 12:21-24, redacted)
• "You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien..." (Leviticus 19:10, see also Lev 23:22, Deu 24:19, Deu 24:21)
• "The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt..." (Leviticus 19:34)
• "[Y]ou and the alien shall be alike before the Lord." (Numbers 5:15b)
• "[J]udge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien." (Deuteronomy 1:16b)
• "You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice..." (Deuteronomy 24:17a)
• "Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.” (Deuteronomy 27:19)

There's not much room for equivocation: we are commanded to treat foreigners living among us as we would have others treat ourselves.  Funny how that sounds like the Golden Rule.  

When an alien (illegal or otherwise) requires emergency medical assistance, they should have it.  When the child of an alien (legal or otherwise) needs food, we should feed them.  They should receive education,  And we should do these things not because of any benefit to ourselves (though I would argue the indirect benefits are enormous).  Rather, we should provide for the aliens among us simply because that is the Christian thing to do.